Mayor's development moratorium gains little traction with Waltham City Council

Tuesday

Aug 1, 2017 at 5:19 PMAug 2, 2017 at 11:21 AM

By Abby Patkinapatkin@wickedlocal.com

Less than two weeks after a 10-alarm fire engulfed the Cooper Street apartment complex, the City Council’s Ordinances and Rules committee voted on July 31 to table Mayor Jeannette McCarthy’s request for a zoning ordinance moratorium on multi-family luxury housing.

The moratorium would put a hold on multi-family luxury housing — such as the Cooper Street complex and the nearby Merc — until city officials establish zoning rules for that type of development.

McCarthy said in a phone interview that while the fire did influence her request, she has wanted to pursue the moratorium for some time due to numerous complaints from her constituents about overdevelopment.

The Ordinances and Rules committee tabled the request at Monday night’s City Council meeting after a brief discussion, according to City Councilor Robert Logan. He added that there does not seem to be much support for the request within the council.

‘What is needed?’

Specifically, McCarthy said she takes issue with companies looking to build more luxury apartment buildings before others are even finished.

"The density of these projects is pure greed, in my opinion," she said.

She also cited the impact on the community.

"What is needed in the city? How many more luxury apartment complexes are you going to build? Because it not only has an impact upon the traffic, the density, the people’s quality of life, it actually has an impact on our schools," she said.

As mayor, McCarthy said that she has heard numerous complaints regarding this type of residential development.

"I don’t really believe that the citizens of Waltham want this, because I’m the one that hears the complaints," she said, adding, "I spend my life [saying], ‘It’s not me, talk to your councilor.’ So most people believe that I’m actually developing these projects."

However, cracking down on luxury housing might be easier said than done, Logan asserted.

"First of all, how do you define luxury? Is that something we can regulate?" he said, adding that these developments also set aside a certain percentage for affordable housing. "So if you put on a moratorium, you’re not going to just stop development, you’re going to stop the development of affordable housing."

According to McCarthy, "luxury" is determined by the rents.

"Even the affordable units, you have to have two people working to afford the rents for the affordable [units]," she said. "If you actually look at what the rents are for any of these complexes — the affordable versus the market rate — they’re classified as luxury housing."

Conflicting accounts

McCarthy previously had a chance to weigh in on zoning, when Logan invited her in an Aug. 19, 2016 email to give her input on zoning amendments. In an Aug. 22 response, included in the moratorium request, McCarthy wrote that she would review the amendments, but never sent a follow up, Logan said in a phone interview.

However, McCarthy said that she did not send her input because she wanted the Law Department to review the amendments first.

"Sometimes the council wants the opinion of the Law Department, other times they completely ignore it, but I feel as mayor, and as the chief elected official of the city, ... their input is necessary before I can say anything."

Additionally, McCarthy has given conflicting statements regarding her support of luxury apartments, Logan asserted, reading a 2014 statement in which McCarthy voiced her support for the Merc, a similar complex.

"She thought the Merc was the greatest thing since sliced bread," Logan said. "Then all of a sudden there’s a fire, and blame the council and let’s have a moratorium."

While McCarthy maintained that the Merc helped "spruce up" the city’s downtown area, she reiterated that other similar developments were unnecessary.

Two separate issues?

Still, on the issue of fire safety, the moratorium falls short, Logan asserted.

One of the biggest issues with the request is that it does not address the 2009 changes to the state building code, said Logan.

"If you want to have a discussion about what development we want to have, that’s fine. But that’s totally separate from the issue of fire safety. So to conflate the two is totally wrong," he said.

The city could adopt the use of the National Fire Protection Association 241 standard, which would require contractors to file a safety plan to prevent or minimize damage in the event of a fire, Logan noted. He added that the city did not require a NFPA 241 for the Cooper Street development.

However, "the issue of building codes and fire safety and everything is totally separate from the zoning," Logan maintained. "To bring up zoning is just, you know — pardon the pun — a bit of a smokescreen here."

Moving forward

At Monday’s City Council meeting, Logan brought in a resolution that calls on Waltham’s state representatives to look into the building code and address issues that have arisen from the 2009 change.

"[The City Council has] very little we can do at a local level. … The reason is, our authority in development is through zoning," he said, adding that Massachusetts law ensures that the council cannot use zoning ordinances to regulate building materials.

The council approved Logan’s resolution with 14 in favor and one councilor absent.